Cakesandcurries

Wednesday, December 11, 2013

From the time I ventured into making bread at home I have not looked back. This time I bring for you a healthy Whole Wheat Loaf for guilt free breakfast.

Two most important things in bread making are: Milk should be just warm, approx. 48 to 54 degrees Celsius .Second is kneading. You have to knead it for 10. -12 minutes for the gluten to develop, which helps the bread to rise.

Use only organic whole wheat flour for best results. Read the entire recipe carefully , including notes before you start.

As you knead , after a couple of minutes you might find the dough to be slightly tough.

Add a tbsp of water at a time and continue kneading. I had to use 3 tbsp of water.

When you feel the dough is sticking to your hand, add a little oil. So this way slowly incorporate 2 tbsp of oil in the dough.

Knead for good 10-12 minutes. By now the dough will become soft and smooth.

Keep the dough in a well greased pan, turn it around so that it is coated with oil on all sides.

Cling wrap it and keep it in a warm draft free place till it doubles in size , say for an hour and half to two depending on the weather conditions.

Grease and flour 9 by 5 inch tin.

Turn the dough on a lightly floured surface and knead it again for 3-4 minutes to expel out all the air.

Sprinkle half the flax seeds on the counter top and press the dough on it.

Now sprinkle the other half and press the other side of the dough.

Now knead the dough so that flaxseeds are properly distributed throughout the dough.

Roll the dough into a large rectangle. Say 12 by 14".

From the end farthest to you fold the dough by an inch and half and pinch it to seal it.

Repeat till you get a roll, pinch to seal.

Check the length of the roll against your pan and accordingly fold and seal the ends.

Now carefully lift the ready roll and place it in the prepared pan with the seam side down.

Brush it lightly with oil. Cover with a cling film and let it sit undisturbed in a warm place.

It is ready to be baked when the loaf rises about an inch above the pan. This will take anywhere between 45 minutes to an hour.

Meanwhile preheat your oven to 180 degrees Celsius.

Brush the loaf with milk for a nice colour.

Place it carefully in the oven.

On the bottom tray of the oven quickly throw a few ice cubes . I throw in a full ice tray.

The steam from the ice cubes will help in oven spring and also prevent from developing cracks on the surface of the loaf.

Bake for 40-45 minutes, till the top gets a nice brown colour.

The bread is ready when it sounds hollow when the bottom is tapped.

Once the bread is done turn it on a wire rack.

Brush the top with oil if you want a soft crust. Let it cool completely on wire rack before you slice it.

Note :if you are using active dry yeast then in warm milk mix sugar. Now sprinkle yeast and mix it lightly.Keep it in a warm place for 10 minutes. You will see yeast would have ballooned by now.Now pour yeast milk mixture in the well and proceed.In this case you don't sprinkle sugar in the well.

The winter season beckons you to try old and new soups. They become our soul food . Rasam has traditionally been an integral part of South Indian cuisine , whatever the season.I had a small piece of pineapple languishing in my fridge. Actually I love pineapple but if I eat too much of it my throat hurts, so most of the time I grill pineapple slices for dinner . After having grilled pineapple for two nights in a row I didn't want to have it again. I wanted to try something keeping the season in mind and this is what I made , Pineapple Rasam.It is mildly flavoured with pineapple, mint and lemon. Not very spicy , just a wonderful amalgamation of sour, spicy and sweet.Use only fresh pineapple . If your pineapple is sour then add 1/2 a tsp of sugar otherwise omit it. If the moong dal is not very thick use 3 tbsp.

Wednesday, December 4, 2013

These cookies were a trial which ended in a brilliant result. I had some leftover Dulche De Leche so instead of just licking it away I thought of trying out cookies with it. These cookies have a nice toffee taste to it. I have used walnuts but you can use choco-chips also or may be a combination of both.

These are not very sweet so if you like sweet cookies you can increase the qty of Dulche De Leche. After mixing in everything, taste the batter and adjust sweetness accordingly .To make oatmeal grind quick oats in mixer and sieve it to get fine flour.

With Christmas round the corner it is only fair that I share my tried and tested recipe of Plum Cake with you all.

For the fruits you should soak them in rum at least a week before baking. What I do is I soak them somewhere in August/ September and let them be in the fridge. I always have soaked fruits in the fridge.

I soak equal quantities of sultanas, raisins, candied ginger peel, candied orange peel, walnuts, cashew nuts, dried apricots, tuti fruity and almonds. The fruits should be completely immersed in rum. For a first time you can start with 50 gms of each.

To make the cake more boozy , you can prick the hot cake with a satay stick and pour some rum over it ( according to your taste) . I personally prefer not to.